Gaza: New crossing points and ‘floating dock’ are cosmetic changes, as humanitarian access disintegrates in Gaza, warn aid agencies

May 28, 2024 Occupied Palestinian Territory -

As Israeli attacks intensify on Rafah, the unpredictable trickle of aid into Gaza has created a mirage of improved access while the humanitarian response is in reality on the verge of collapse, warn 20 aid agencies. The latest Israeli attacks on a displacement camp near UN aid facilities in Rafah reportedly killed dozens of people, including children, and injured many more. The ability of aid groups and medical teams to respond has now all but crumbled, with temporary fixes such as a ‘floating dock’ and new crossing points having little impact.

Aid agencies now fear an acceleration in deaths from starvation, disease and denied medical assistance, while land and sea entry points remain effectively shut to meaningful humanitarian assistance, most desperately fuel, and attacks in areas sheltering civilians intensify.

The systematic obstruction at Israeli-controlled crossing points, intensified hostilities, and prolonged telecommunications blackouts have reduced the volume of aid entering Gaza, including food, fuel, and medical supplies, to some of the lowest levels witnessed in the last seven months, said 19 aid agencies.

Médecins Sans Frontières/Doctors Without Borders (MSF) – one of the largest humanitarian and medical providers in Gaza – has been unable to get any supplies into the enclave since May 6. The lack of clean water supplies puts patients at high risk of disease. Yet, desalination kits and submersible pumps to set up sustainable water systems to provide water, are almost always denied by the Israeli authorities.

Challenges to distribute aid safely within the enclave have also reached a new high. In less than three weeks, nearly one million Palestinians have been newly displaced into overcrowded areas which lack the means to support human life. Continued concerns for the protection of aid operations, including the safety of aid workers, and the proliferation of Israeli checkpoints within Gaza also continue to hamper the humanitarian response.

Zenab, a pregnant woman whose husband was killed in an Israeli air strike, told CARE International in March she fled from Gaza City to Rafah and then to Khan Younis. She had to walk hours on end to different pharmacies, hospitals, and health centers to find medication to deal with pregnancy complications, and could not find enough drinking water or food. Her doctor has said she needs a C-section and is due to give birth next week, but fears there may be no space in any of the remaining partially functioning hospitals.

Gaza’s health system has been effectively dismantled. Virtually every hospital in Gaza has either been issued ‘evacuation orders’, is under an Israeli siege or will soon run out of fuel and supplies. Rafah’s largest hospital, Abu Yousef al-Najjar, has been forced to shut down following an Israeli-issued ‘evacuation order’ and no hospital in northern Gaza is currently accessible. Medical workers across Gaza say patients are dying daily due to a shortage in medical supplies, as doctors, nurses, and other health workers continue to be killed or forcibly displaced.

Save the Children said children were no longer able to be medically evacuated from Gaza and are struggling to cope with the horrors they are facing daily and the loss of family and loved ones and are in desperate need of psychosocial support.

Oxfam partner organization Juzoor said on 19 May that six of the already overcrowded shelters they supported in Jabaliya in northern Gaza were completely destroyed by Israeli bombardment. The shelters had medical services and were hosting displaced people from surrounding areas in the north. Staff members who fled the area returned to find patient beds burnt and critical medical equipment and supplies destroyed.

In southern Gaza, the flow aid has been completely cut off. All bakeries in Rafah have been forced to shut. Dwindling supplies, the inability to access warehouses storing aid, and insecurity, has forced aid agencies to suspend distributions in the south, and may soon be forced to suspend in Khan Younis, Deir al-Balah, and Gaza City as supplies are rapidly depleting. Many Palestinians are now surviving on less than 3% of their daily water needs as temperatures rise dangerously high and diseases like diarrhea and hepatitis rapidly spread.

Announcements of additional crossing points and initiatives, including the new ‘floating dock’, have given an illusion of improvement, but have largely amounted to cosmetic changes. Between May 7 and 27, just over 1,000 truckloads of aid entered Gaza through all crossing points combined, including the newly built ‘floating dock,’ according to UN counts. This is alarmingly low given the skyrocketing humanitarian needs of Gaza’s 2.2 million people, and much lower when compared to most other periods in the last seven months.

The Rafah crossing, one of the main entry points for humanitarian workers and aid into Gaza, has been shut since May 7, when Israeli forces seized the crossing point. Meanwhile, more than 2,000 aid trucks remain waiting in Arish in Egypt for Israel to allow them entry, with food rotting and medicines expiring as families face heightened levels of starvation a few miles away.

While Kerem Shalom remains officially open, commercial trucks rather have been prioritized, and the movement of aid remains unpredictable, inconsistent, and critically low.

Aid agencies and human rights organizations continue to call for an immediate, sustained ceasefire to save and protect, and for consistent and predictable routes to bring aid into and across Gaza. All parties must protect humanitarian access and delivery of aid. Organizations call on the warring parties to adhere to international humanitarian law (IHL), and for Israel to uphold the International Court of Justice (ICJ) rulings, including its most recent order for Israel to halt its military offensive on Rafah. The international community, including third party governments and UN Security Council members, remain bound by their obligations under IHL, and the ICJ rulings, to ensure Palestinians are protected.

Aid agencies are working around the clock, trying to deliver lifesaving aid under the most impossible circumstances, but there is little more that can be done if States continue to shirk their legal obligations and moral responsibility to secure a ceasefire.

Editor’s Note

  • Aid agencies have repeatedly cautioned that any attempts to get aid into Gaza by air and sea – which remain inefficient, costly, and even dangerous – cannot replace land crossings and risk becoming a distraction from addressing the barriers aid agencies are facing on the ground. The pre crisis average per working day of trucks entering Gaza was 500, including fuel.
  • Between May 7-23, 906 truckloads of aid entered the Gaza Strip via all land and sea crossing points combined, and another 160 truckloads of aid entered between May 24-26, totaling 1,066.
  • More than 81,026 Palestinians in Gaza remain critically injured and all medical evacuations out of Gaza have come to a halt since Israel’s seized the Rafah crossing on 7 May. An estimated 14,000 critically ill and injured patients require lifesaving treatment abroad.
  • A total of 4,500 trucks, including commercial as well as aid trucks, remain waiting at the Egyptian side of the Rafah border crossing.
  • At the Kerem Shalom land crossing, Israeli authorities are now prioritizing commercial trucks over aid, meaning the food and other supplies entering will not reach those most desperately in need.
  • Access through Erez West (Zikim) remaining severely restricted.
  • More than 266 aid workers, the majority Palestinian have been killed.
  • Since May 7, humanitarian organizations in the Logistics Cluster have been unable to access storage facilities, facilitate storage services or operate the cargo notification system to support humanitarian actors.
  • As of May 7, more than 450,000 people were in the Al-Mawasi area, according to UNRWA, and this number has increased since attacks on Rafah intensified.

AGENCY SIGN ON:

  1. Premiere Urgence Internationale
  2. Médecins du Monde France
  3. Médecins du Monde Switzerland
  4. Médecins du Monde Spain
  5. Danish Refugee Council
  6. Norwegian Refugee Council
  7. CARE International
  8. Médecins Sans Frontières/Doctors Without Borders (MSF)
  9. Oxfam
  10. Save the Children International
  11. Plan International
  12. Amnesty International
  13. ActionAid International
  14. Humanity & Inclusion/ Handicap International (HI)
  15. Norwegian People’s Aid
  16. War Child Alliance
  17. Secours Islamique France
  18. Action For Humanity
  19. Islamic Relief
  20. Mercy Corps
new director

Director of Network and Resource Development

Adnan joined Islamic Relief in 2004 as a regional fundraiser in the UK. He worked in multiple roles over 10 years at Islamic Relief UK, including setting up the first digital team and leading the growth of digital fundraising and engagement. Adnan also led numerous fundraising and marketing campaigns, which played a significant part in the growth of Islamic Relief UK.

Having moved to Islamic Relief Worldwide in 2014, Adnan has held different roles that have helped grow Islamic Relief’s global digital footprint into new geographic territories, supporting Islamic Relief members with their digital and marketing growth as well as developing new products and initiatives for the Islamic Relief family.

Adnan graduated in Industrial Design and Technology from Loughborough University. He has since completed an Advanced Diploma in Business Administration from Durham University and a Diploma in Digital Marketing from the Institute of Data and Marketing.

Nadeem Azhar

General Counsel

Nadeem joined Islamic Relief Worldwide in September 2022. He has worked in the charitable sector for over a decade.

He studied Modern History and Politics at Manchester University, and at the University of Law in London before qualifying as a solicitor in 2011.

Nadeem is an experienced corporate, commercial and governance lawyer, having worked with various faith-based and grant making charities as well those in health and education settings. He was a partner at a law firm in London before moving in-house where he focused on setting up and restructuring charities and social enterprises.

Most recently, Nadeem was Lead Counsel at Mind, a leading mental health charity, where he co-authored a new federation agreement, revamped legal processes, and played a major role in developing its strategic and fundraising partnerships.

Nadeem has been a charity trustee for the Seafarers Charity, as well as many grant-making bodies and theatre companies.

Adnan Hafiz

Director of Network and Resource Development

Adnan joined Islamic Relief in 2004 as a regional fundraiser in the UK. He worked in multiple roles over 10 years at Islamic Relief UK, including setting up the first digital team and leading the growth of digital fundraising and engagement. Adnan also led numerous fundraising and marketing campaigns, which played a significant part in the growth of Islamic Relief UK.

Having moved to Islamic Relief Worldwide in 2014, Adnan has held different roles that have helped grow Islamic Relief’s global digital footprint into new geographic territories, supporting Islamic Relief members with their digital and marketing growth as well as developing new products and initiatives for the Islamic Relief family.

Adnan graduated in Industrial Design and Technology from Loughborough University. He has since completed an Advanced Diploma in Business Administration from Durham University and a Diploma in Digital Marketing from the Institute of Data and Marketing.

Board of Directors
Javed Akhtar

Director of Finance

Javed Akhtar has more than a decade of experience at Islamic Relief, having worked in a similar role between 2003-2014. In that role he strove to implement wide-ranging financial and accounting processes which aided in the transparent nature in which Islamic Relief now operates.

Javed also has diverse experience across the private sector, having worked at American chemicals and pharmaceutical giant DuPont, shipping firm FedEX and technology consultancy company Accenture. In all his roles, he prioritises using the latest technologies to improve monitoring and reporting at every level. Javed’s commitment to embracing digital end-to-end technology, enhancing accountability to our stakeholders and promoting financial transparency is ensuring that we remain at the forefront of financial developments in the sector.

By training, Javed is a chartered accountant with a Master’s degree in NGO Management with Charity Accounting and Financial Management from Cass Business School.
Board of Directors
Affan Cheema  

Director of International Programmes

Affan Cheema is an experienced leader who has spent 25 years working in the international aid sector on poverty eradication in Asia, Africa and the Middle East. He has worked in fast onset emergencies, protracted crisis and development environments whilst working for Islamic Relief Worldwide and Care International. He is also a trustee of South West International Development Network (SWIDN).

Through his career Affan has held numerous roles including institutional fundraising, programme and grant management, and programme quality assurance.  Affan’s leadership has helped Islamic Relief Worldwide secure the highly coveted Core Humanitarian Standard (CHS), seen as the sector’s premier benchmark for operational excellence.

Affan completed his BA in Economics and Geography from University of London (School of Oriental and African Studies) and his MSc in Development Administration and Planning from the University of Bristol. He is PRINCE2 qualified, is a keen sportsman and recently co-edited a book entitled -Islam and International Development: Insights for working with Muslim Communities-.
Board of Directors
Dr Hossam Said

Managing Director, Humanitarian Academy for Development (HAD)

For nearly three decades Dr Hossam has provided the strategic vision to manage, lead and develop a range of international humanitarian interventions around the world.

At the start of his career, Dr Hossam served on the Board of Directors of the Egyptian Medical Syndicate, before moving to Islamic Relief Worldwide to manage the core global business activities as International Programmes Director.

During this time the organisation increased its global reach, gaining both domestic and international repute and credibility. Dr Hossam has also served on the Islamic Relief Worldwide Board of Management and Executive Committee for the past 15 years; sharing responsibility for strategic organisational development and the change management process, whilst forging strong relationships with many other charities.

Dr Hossam gained an MBA from Aston Business School in 2004 and graduated as a Medical Doctor from Cairo University in 1981.
Board of Directors
Martin Cottingham  

Director of External Relations and Advocacy

Martin Cottingham joined Islamic Relief in 2012 as IRUK Media Relations Manager, and was appointed Head of Communications in 2015 before taking up his current position as Director of External Relations and Advocacy for Islamic Relief Worldwide.

Martin has helped Islamic Relief to increase its mainstream media profile and expand its campaigning work, producing hard-hitting advocacy reports on floods in Pakistan (2011) famine in Somalia (2012) disaster risk reduction (2013) and aid to Afghanistan (2014). He has over 20 years’ experience working in media, communications and marketing roles for international development and environmental charities.

Martin graduated from the University of London with a degree in English and Drama (1982-85) then trained as a journalist with a postgraduate diploma at City University (1986-87). He has previously worked for Christian Aid as Editor of Christian Aid News and Media Relations Manager (1988-97) for Oxfam as Regional Campaigns Manager (1997-2000) and at the Soil Association as Marketing Director (2001-2006), as well as working for a wide range of organisations as a freelance writer, researcher and communications consultant.

Tufail Hussain

Director of Islamic Relief UK

Tufail Hussain has 17 years’ experience in the humanitarian and development sector, leading on marketing and fundraising campaigns for several organisations before joining Islamic Relief UK in 2016 as Deputy Director. Tufail was appointed Director of Islamic Relief UK in 2019 and in 2021 provided valuable leadership as interim CEO of Islamic Relief Worldwide.

Tufail is driven by a passion for empowering disadvantaged youth and mentors a number of young people. He also works to strengthen engagement between British Muslims and wider society. Under his leadership, Islamic Relief UK has significantly increased its income and developed successful partnerships with communities across the country. He has travelled around the world to raise awareness of major emergencies such as the Syria, Yemen and Afghanistan crises and the floods in Pakistan and Sudan.

A father to 5 daughters and a son, Tufail is also a sports enthusiast and passionate Liverpool FC supporter. Tufail has run the London Marathon twice, raising over £35,000 for humanitarian causes.

Before joining Islamic Relief he was CEO of Orphans in Need, where he oversaw a new strategy that increased income from £2 million to £9 million in 3 years and opened up new UK and international offices. Tufail is also a trustee of the Muslim Charities Forum and a Director of TIC International (Islamic Relief Worldwide’s clothes recycling and trading arm).
Waseem Ahmad

Chief Executive Officer

Waseem Ahmad joined the Islamic Relief family over 24 years ago, serving as Programme Officer in the Balochistan province of south-western Pakistan before becoming Head of Programmes in Pakistan. Waseem then moved to Oxfam and Tearfund before returning to Islamic Relief to establish our mission in Malawi. Later serving as Head of Programme Funding and Partnerships, Waseem led the response to major crises across the globe, including the East Africa drought, Pakistan earthquake and the Indian Ocean Tsunami.

Waseem then served for nearly 6 years as our Director of International Programmes, during which time the charity secured and retained the coveted Core Humanitarian Standard certification in recognition of the quality of our programming. He was appointed CEO of Islamic Relief in May 2021.

With a special interest in community mobilisation and infrastructure, Waseem received an MSc in Project Planning and Management from the University of Bradford, as well as an MSc in Economics from Arid Agriculture University in Rawalpindi, Pakistan.

Waseem has also worked for Lepra Health in Action and is a member of the International Civil Society Centre’s Board of Trustees. The father-of-3 enjoys walking and playing football, and is a keen birdwatcher.